CSHL neuroscientists focus on understanding how neural activity and neural circuitry underlie behavior, and how disruptions in these circuits lead to neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, autism, schizophrenia and depression. These questions are addressed in two model systems—rodents and Drosophila—using molecular, cellular, genetic, developmental, theoretical, physiological and behavioral approaches.

Neuroscience research at CSHL is highly collaborative, and can be divided into three broad themes: sensory processing, cognition, and cognitive disorders.  The sensory processing group addresses basic questions about sensory representations (auditory, olfactory and visual) and decision-making. The cognition group uses the tools of modern neuroscience (genetic, molecular, physiology and imaging) to study the neural mechanisms underlying cognitive processes—including attention, memory and decision-making—that have traditionally been studied only in nonhuman and human primate models.  The cognitive disorder group builds on recent findings about the genetic basis of diseases like autism and schizophrenia to define how neural circuits and synaptic function are disrupted in these disorders. In addition, there is an effort to develop new anatomical methods to improve our understanding of brain circuits, connectivity and function.

Neuroscience researchers at CSHL:

Dinu Florin Albeanu - Neuronal circuits; sensory coding and synaptic plasticity; neuronal correlates of behavior; olfactory processing

Anne Churchland - Decision-making; electrophysiology; sensory processing; vision; audition; neural computation; modeling; behavior

Joshua Dubnau - Learning, memory, genetics, behavior

Grigori Enikolopov - Stem cells; neurogenesis; development; signal transduction

Hiro Furukawa - Membrane proteins, X-ray crystallography, electrophysiology, neurodegenerative disease

Z. Josh Huang - experience-dependent development of the neocortex; mouse genetics; neurotrophins

Adam Kepecs - Decision-making; neural circuits; behavioral electrophysiology; theoretical neuroscience; neuroeconomics

Alexei Koulakov - Theoretical neurobiology; quantitative principles of cortical design; computer science; applied mathematics

Bo Li - Neuroscience; glutamatergic synapse; synaptic plasticity; schizophrenia; depression; rodent models of psychiatric disorders

Partha P. Mitra - Neuroinformatics; theoretical engineering; animal communications; neural prostheses; brain imaging; developmental linguistics

Pavel Osten - Neurobiology of autism and schizophrenia; gene expression-based mapping of brain activity; anatomical mapping of brain connectivity; high throughput microscopy

Stephen Shea - Olfaction; audition; communication behaviors; in vivo electrophysiology; individual recognition

Glenn Turner - Neural coding; learning and memory; sensory processing; Drosophila; electrophysiology

Linda Van Aelst - Signal transduction; Ras & Rho proteins; tumorigenesis; neuronal development

Anthony Zador - Cortical mechanisms of auditory attention; autism

Yi Zhong - Neurophysiology; Drosophila; learning and memory; neurofibromatosis; signal transduction